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| 1929 |
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| The growth of labor unions, begun particularly during 1915–20, reached a total of 600 associations with a third of a million members. There was also an increase in labor disputes (576 in 1929). | 1 |
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| July 2 |
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The Tanaka cabinet fell. Hamaguchi Osachi (1870–1931) of the Minseit formed a cabinet, and Shidehara Kij r returned as foreign minister. To redress Japan's balance of payments problem, Hamaguchi tried to reduce government expenditures; he also strengthened the yen by moving Japan again to the gold standard. The coming Great Depression undid much of his success. | 2 |
| The international depression hit Japanese labor, although the government's reflationary policies helped to alleviate some of the pain after 1932, and the speedy recovery of the 1930s together with continued expansion in both heavy and light industries served actually to enlarge the labor pool considerably. | 3 |
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